Stress Management

Stress Management

Here we are at our 7th and final post of this blog mini-series. I hope you have enjoyed reading about the basic EQi2.0 model and about the constituent parts of emotional intelligence. Even though this is the final blog in this mini-series, there is much more to discuss with regards to emotional intelligence. I will be back with another mini-series that we can view as ‘putting it altogether.’ For now, have fun with this last post of this series!

There are mountains of articles and books on stress management. Everyone has some information about why it is good for you, why it is bad for you and how to manage it. Here we will specifically be looking at how emotional intelligence can help you manage stress. The ream of Stress Management within the EQi2.0 model is about your ability to be flexible, tolerate stress and be optimistic. Being good in this area means that you are able to remain calm, focused and be flexible in the face of changing circumstances (you might even find yourself enjoying change!). You are able to demonstrate resilience, keep a positive attitude, deal with unfavorable happenings and manage conflicting emotions. Besides the long-term health benefits of managing stress, in the short term these skills are important to manage tight deadlines and unexpected challenges.

Take a minute and think of a stressful situation you recently experienced. What made you feel stressed? Were you expected to be flexible and didn’t want to? Did you develop negative physical or emotional reactions to the situation? Were you able to remain optimistic? These are the three components of the Stress Management realm.

If you feel you could be better in this area, try this exercise: No More Shutdowns. It will take you about 30 min. Take the handout attached here and have all the participants work in pairs. Have one person read the SD (shutdown) statement and the other the P (possibility) statement in each category. After each category, the partners should discuss how they felt and what they were thinking after each statement.
• How did it feel to say no, or to hear no?
• How did it feel when new possibilities were invited using the positive statement?
Finally, lead a team/group discussion on how their insights can be used in the workplace going forward. This exercise is from ‘Emotional Intelligence in Action (2012),’ by Marcia Hughes and James Bradford Terrell.

That brings us to the end of this blog mini-series. Thank you for participating! I would love to hear your thoughts and ideas about emotional intelligence, leadership and cultural intelligence. I will be back soon with another exciting mini-series!

If you are interested in diving in deeper into your own emotional intelligence and taking the EQi 2.0 assessment, please contact Catherine.
Catherine